Conventional hospital gowns typically consist of a body portion joined, usually at the patient's back, by a series of tie straps. While such gowns are inexpensive and provide convenient access to the patient's body for performing procedures, they are awkward to put on and generally do not provide adequate coverage where the gown closes. For these latter reasons, conventional hospital gowns are widely viewed with disfavor by the patients who must wear them.
A number of improved hospital gowns have been proposed that address certain of the shortcomings of conventional gowns. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,268 issued on Feb. 18, 1986 to Freeman discloses a patient's garment having hook and loop type fasteners and having an overlap of material along the closure of the garment. Freeman also discloses sleeves provided with an openable seam along each arm to provide improved access to portions of the patient's body without having to open the principal closure of the garment.
Further improvements to conventional hospital gowns are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,124 issued on Jan. 12, 1988 to Sawicki et al. The gown of Sawicki et al is generally similar to that of Freeman, but incorporates various means for securing medical devices, such as telemetry units and drainage bag, to the gown itself.
None of the gowns disclosed by the prior art employ a substantial overlap of material in order to preclude unintended exposure of the patient's body. Furthermore, prior art gowns do not incorporate an openable seam along the entire side portion of the gown to provide improved access to the patient's body.
These and other improvements over prior art hospital gowns are incorporated in the present invention as will be subsequently described.